Among the Echoes (Wrecked and Ruined #2.5)(3)

"Because I'm going to help you. It may not seem like it now, but I'm here to help you," he whispers, facing the wall.

"I'm done." I cover myself again with the blanket.

"You tell anyone about this and I will kill you on the spot. No questions asked. No help. You understand?" He turns to face me, and suddenly, my savior disappears and the dark man who put me here returns.

Unsure what else to do, I nod.

"Lie back down. I need to retie you."

"No!" I shout as terror consumes me.

He grabs my arm, and even though I kick against him, he easily slips back on my restraints.

"There's just one more. I'm sorry," he breathes, pushing my hair out of my face.

"No, don't leave me. Please. I can't go through that again. Marcus!" I scream louder than I've been able to muster all day.

"Not one f*cking word."

"I can't take it again. You said you wouldn't kill me, but that is what you just sentenced me to. I can't take one more man. I don't have any pieces left to give." I barely squeak out the words over the dry heaves.

He moves back to the bed, leaning forward on his knuckles to speak directly into my face without so much as even a hit of an accent. "I want to tell you that you'll be fine, but I can't do that. I don't think anyone will be fine after something like this. However, I will not let them kill you. I give you my word on that." He holds my eyes, begging for me believe him.

The tears stream down my face as he unzips his pants, tugs them down his hips an inch, and walks away. He tosses the lube on the floor next to the bed and opens the door.

"Marcus, please!" I scream after him. He's not much, but he's the only hope I have.

"Looks like somebody likes my cock," he laughs, walking out the door.

"About f*cking time," I hear a man with an accent growl from outside. "We killing this one?"

"Yes, sir. But I'm doing it myself. Dom, gave her to me."

"Well, you don't mind if I have a little fun first? Right?" He walks into the room with Marcus hot on his heels.

"Sir, I promised Aidan he was next."

I look up to find Marcus standing behind the new man, his eyes nervously flying around the room. Tears once again make my vision swim as the realization hits me—he’s powerless against this new man.

The older man prowls over to the bed, settling between my spread legs. His hands roam up and down my body. I don't look at him. I can’t. Instead, my eyes stay focused on my evil lifeline silently watching in the doorway.

"Sir, allow me to get her cleaned up for you. The men have been at her all day. Hell, I just f*cked her myself."

"I can see. Lube, Marcus? I didn't take you for such a gentleman."

"I'm an ass man. It’s kind of a necessity." He fakes a smirk and offers a shrug, trying to play it cool, but even I can tell he's uncomfortable.

"I'm sure Dom wouldn't mind if I made this one my own. He knows I love to play with the pretty ones," he purrs.

Marcus's eyes go wide just before the pain erupts over my legs.

A scream tears from my throat as I look down to see him slicing the tip of his knife up the inside of my thighs, over my sex, and down the other thigh. I lose focus and beg for the darkness to take me. The sound of a gun deafens me, and the body of the man who just mutilated me falls lifelessly on top of me. I drift away, praying the light never returns.





"Move, Erica." Marcus’s voice breaks through the ringing in my ears.

I open my eyes to find my hands and feet suddenly free, and the dead man has been shoved off me. I’m covered in blood, but I dive into the arms of the man who was once my captor. The same man who is now rescuing me.

There are shouts behind the door, and he shoves me into the bathroom. He closes the door, but I can’t go back to the dark. I keep it cracked, watching as the bedroom door splinters into pieces. Marcus opens fire on the three men sprinting in with guns raised.

I quickly close the door and move toward the single window, but the searing pain between my legs leaves me unable to walk. I fall toward the window, pushing against it only to realize it has been sealed shut. Panic ricochets through my mind as I try to work out an escape, but I just can't focus with the sounds of gunfire banging from the other side of the door. Finally, with one last pop, the room goes silent.

"Erica, open the door. You can’t get out the window."

My emotions bubble over, and I stumble helplessly back to the door. I don’t know Marcus, but I have no choice but to trust him.

He walks in, throwing the blanket around me and scooping me into his arms.

He carries me from the room, stepping over the bloody mess of bodies. I bury my face into his neck so I don't have to look at the carnage.

"I want to go home," I whisper. The adrenaline fades from my system, leaving me with the shakes and tears I thought I had long since run out of pouring from my eyes.

He puts me down only long enough to snatch a phone from his pocket. "Fourteen Ulrich Ave. I need a pickup. Medical. And a whole team of cleanup. I just killed Darren Wilkes and his top three." He abruptly ends the call and cradles me back into his strong arms. "I’ve got you. Shhh," he whispers into my hair.